Tag Archives: cesi

A unique Czech festival emphasizing the Czech culture just took place in Saint Helena, Banat in Romania. About six months ago you may have read about the Czech villages in Banat and their citizens that managed to preserve their culture and language for more than 180 years. The community, consisting of almost 2,000 Czechs, is somewhat special because it offers visitors the opportunity to see what the Czech villages used to look like. The Czech Republic is changing and its towns and villages transformed thanks to new technology and modern transportation. On the other hand, time in the villages in Banat has stood still and this year’s festival again showed how folklore traditions are still passed from one generation to the next.

St. Valentine’s Day is still a relatively new holiday in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This day was originally associated with love and feelings, but today it is mostly associated with shopping. This year might be different, though. Even though the Czech market is overwhelmed by items associated with this holiday, the Czechs will probably spend less and instead of going to restaurants, they will probably eat at home instead. The neighboring Slovaks won’t shop as much either but a recent public opinion poll showed that it will be probably due to their disfavor of this holiday. No matter what your financial situation is or how you feel about this holiday, there are other meaningful ways that you can celebrate this day and maybe do something good for others.

Are you members of social networks? Czechs decided to start their own social network named Sitko (translated as “network of contacts”). This page has combined elements of professional social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn, and was created by a Czech company Centrum, which holds pages Aktualne.cz, Atlas.cz, Centrum.cz and ICQ Czech Republic. Sitko is not aimed only at students, as it was the case with the original Facebook. However, it runs now in a Beta version and it is only accessible for invited guests.

The current President of the United States George W. Bush, has been actively involved in the abolition of U.S. visas for Czech and Slovak citizens. In January 2009, he will be replaced by Barack Obama. According to Ceske Noviny article, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, said that he wants to visit the USA and personally say goodbye to him. He will do so either this year or early next year.

Last week Topolanek had to cancel his trip to the United States because of political tensions in the Czech Parliament. But now he does not plan to cancel this trip. It will be probably his first time flying to the USA without the visa requirement.

The current list of Czech and Slovak Meetup can be found HERE (Aktualni seznam Ceskych a Slovenskych Meetupu ZDE).

There are many ways to network with other Czechs and Slovaks but one of the most popular is through the web. One of the resources you can use is Meetup (www.meetup.com). This online social networking portal connects people around the world that share the same interests. It allows members to find and join different groups (language, computer games, movies, books, politics, health, pets, or careers). So why won’t you try it too? Czech/Slovak Meetups welcome anybody – Czechs, Slovaks, Czech/Slovak-Americans, or even Americans! Join to learn more about Czech and Slovak culture, language, food, traditions and much more.

Here is the most recent list of Czech and Slovak Meetups as of September 2008 (scroll below):